Changeable rotary press



March 14, 1933. H, F. BECHMAN CHANGEABLE ROTARY PRESS Filed Sept. l5, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet \m\\ 31--.:lililllrl March 14, 1933. l H, F, BECHMAN 1,901,075

CHANGEABLE ROTARY PRES S Filed Sept. l5, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ab gid 2e j lI llllllillllm flttoznas.

March 14, 1933. H F, BECHMAN 1,901,075

CHANGEABLE ROTARY PRES S Filed Sept. l5, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 14, 1933 UNITE-n s'iAf'iesV PATENT-+Ffiicis;

HENRY r. BECHMAM, or* BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, Assienon ro yDUPLEX. .PRINTING IRnss COMPANY, or BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, vn CORPORATION or MICHIGAN CHANGE'ABLE ROTARY PRESS Appiieanon ined september is', i924. serial No. 737,553.

This invention is an improvement in rotary web printing presses adaptedfor .printing newspapers, and its object is to produce a press which can be easily and economical ly altered readily to producev a newspaper of another desired length of sheetby substituting for the printing -and impression cylinders other like cylinders of the proper size; and which pressr can be readily changed Vso as to allow the olirection'of run of the wel) to be reversed by reversiiigor kchanging the position of the ink distributing rollers.

lTo make more clear the object of the invention, it should be understood that large newspapers are customarily printed on ro tary web presses and these papers are usually either approXmatQ/ly 21%"3 22%"5 01" 23% in length; and the plate .and imprese sion cylinders are usually` made two sheets long in circumference and therefore for the said lengths of sheets the cylinders of the press would be 13%; lll/'55014155k in diameter, respectively, i p

rlhese large newspaper presses ,are practically only huilt to order., (unless the publisher can nd a second hand press which would suit him) and the plate an-d impression cylinders therein .are inade of the proper Adiameter to print the particularlength of sheet desired by the publisher; and the press is `only adapted toeconomically and eftipiently print sheets that are .of one particular length. Furthermore, cylinders, frames, gearing, etc., of the press are not usually manufactured `until the order (determining the length of sheet) is given, as V,it would throw an immense financial vburden on inanuf-acturers to carry large newspaper machines for different sizes of sheets in stock.

It frequently happens that after a newspaper publisher has purchased one or-linore presses adapted kto produce a given size of sheets, conditions change, which malte it de' sirable for him to alter the length .of sheets in his paper; and heretofore in order to do this he has had to expend a large amount of inoney and time in exchanging his old presses for new` ones adapted `to print the desired lengths of sheets..

,Another practical hitherto ,eizpesurfaces onv the plate cylinders.

rienced by press owners has been in` regard to the location of the paper web supply. Some newspaperA plants are so arrangedthat it is advantageous to feed the web into the press from above, and inothersthe web must be fed from below. tion of the cylinders, ink drums and ink rolls of a printing press must be in harmony with the direction of the paper travel; and the direction ofrotation of the inlrdruin and the position of the. ink rollerswhich'distribute the ink on the inl: drums depends upon the direction of rotation of the plate cylinders; and ifthe direction of run ofweb is changed,

the direction ofrotation of the plate cylin-` ders niust be changed, andthe direction of rotation of the ink drum must be correspond'- The direction of revoluingly changed; and therefore the position of l ,the adjustable ink distributing rollers must be changed, because Vthe inlr must be distributed between the point of theinlr supply to the drum the form rollers .which trans fer ink from ythe drum to 4the printing At times it is advantageous or necessary to make this change in direction of run of the web after the presses have been installed; i

Newspaper presses constructed in accor-dance -with niy present inventionwill .enable the newspaper owner to change the length of the sheet without having to buy an entirely new press, as the plate and impression cylinders therein `can be removed and substituted by 'like cylinders of a size adapted to print the desired length of sheets without necessitating any `other material Echanges in .the press; and also will enable the ink drum-,to be rotated in either desired direction, according .to the desired run lof the web through -fthe press either up or down, as the ink distribut- .ing rollers are made changeablefroni one side of the ink drum to the other, so that they can to be inade at a much smaller expenditure of time `,and money than heretofore; and also allows changes in position of the paper supply and run of the inlring mechanism with practically no change in the printing section;

and all the said changes can be made very quickly andeconomically when desired. If a newspaper publisher has presses made in accordance with the present invention he can change his paper' from one size or length of sheetto another, or change the direction of the run of the 'web as stated, and such changes can be made if necessary in the newspaper Vplant without losing-an edition, because 4filling pieces or blocks are provided to cor- Y rectly position-the boxesaccording to the sizes ofthe `different cylinders.

L I The framesV of thevpress are also so-built that the supports for the ink* distributing rollers can be interchangeably positioned at either VSide of the inking drum so as to come between the ink supply and form rollers; and

, with these few changesthe press can be readily-adapted to print papers of any one of the usual'V length of page." f

Tonenable othersskilled in the art to readily understand and adopt the invention, I will describethe invention with referencey to the accompanying'drawings, which illustrate one perfectingunit of aprinting press embodying the invention; itbeing obvious that if more than one perfecting unit is employed all the perfecting units are constructed'substantially alike.' I refer to the 'appended claimsfor summaries of the essentials of the inventionand novel features of construction andnovel combinations of parts for which protection is desired; f v l .In said drawings:

equipped with cylinders adapted to print pages say 23% in length and arranged for the web ofpaper to be lead into the press from beneath.

i Figure 2 shows the same press equipped print pages say 235% in length, and also arranged forthe web -of paperV to be lead in lfrom above.

Figure 3 is a detail section approximately.

on theline 3-3, Figure 42.

V,Figure 4 is a detail section on the line 4-7-4, Figure 1.` l Figure 'is va detail view showing the relative position ofthe journal boxes Vof a pair ofplate and impression cylinders and filling pproximately in pieces.

n one press and installing another Figure 6 is a detail View of the wedges and filling in pieces used to position the journal boxes of one size of cylinders.

Figure 7 is a detail view of a set of intervchangeableV wedges and filling in piecesV used journal boxes of another size Vable` ink ldistributing rollers.

Figure 9 is a detail section' on the line 9 9, Figure l8. Figure 10 a view similar to Figure 8 showing the inljdistributing,rollers adjusted to the opposite side of the inl; drum.

Figure ll is a detail section on the line 11-1l,Figure 10. w

The frame of the press may be of any suitable construction and each side frame l is providedat its 4top end with pairs of open'- ings la, lbfor the journal vboxes 2, 2a of the shafts i and p respectively of the impression cylinders'I and plate cylinders P. These cylinders are preferably arranged parallel and in approximately the same plane; with the impression cylinders I between the plate cylinders P.y l

The openings lb are larger Vthan the journal boxes 2c of the impression cylinders I so as to permit the journal boxes`2a of different sized `impression cylinders to be interchangeably placedin the openings 1b.

The journal boxes can be securely confined in said openings by means of suitable interchangeable wedge shaped ller plates 2b, interposed betwelen'one side of thev boxes and the inclined side `1c of the openings 16, as shown in Figures l, 2 and 5. If desired filler plates orV shims 2c of suitable thicknesscan be interposed between the opposite vertical side wall of the opening l?) and the boxes, as indicated in Figure 1.

The openings la are also larger than the boxes 2, so as to permit journal-boxes of plate ycylinders of different sizes to be interchange` ably placed inthe openings la. The boxes j f 2 can be accurately positioned in the open- Figure -1 shows a side elevation of a press ingsla by means of wedge plates2d and 2c, which are interposed between the opposite sides of' the-boxes 2 and the oppositely inclined sides of the openings la. By vertically adjusting the wedges 2d, 2e, boxes 2 can be `adjusted laterallyV toward or from the boxes 2a and correspondingly adjust the plate cylinders toward'or from the related impressionjcylind'ers. Interchangeable sets v of wedge plates 2b, 2d, 2e' and shims 2c can be provided or kept in stock by the manufacturer to suit the size of boxes 2, 2a of the ycylinders to be used inthe press. The wedge plates 25,2CZ, 2e can-be readily adjusted by any suitable means. As indicated in Figures l and 2, bolts-2f, 21g/,2k are tapped through a cap plate or bar lg'attached tothe topv ofthe side frames l andclosing the top iec of the openings, as usual in press construction.

In Figure l` the cylinders I and P are ofV cylinders P. Thewedges 2?), 2d, 2e are so adjusted that the peripheries of the plate and impression cylinders will properly co'act as required in printing the web.

In `Figure 2 as the plate and impression cylinders P and I are slightly larger than the plate and impression cylinders-P `and I in Figure l; the shims 2c are omitted, and the wedges 2b are properly adjusted to so locate the boxes 2,2al that the peripheries of the cylinders P and I will be in proper operative relation.

. The two impression cylinders I, I are preferably intergeared as usual by means of gears I', only the pitch line of said gears being indicated in broken lines in Figures l and 2. As usual the plate and impression cylinders in each pair are intergeared by gears on the'l opposite ends of the cylinder shafts, said gears having their pitch or running line in line with the peripheries of the cylinders,

thus driving the lcylinders in unison in the usual manner; such gears are well known and are not shown, as their addition to t-he draw ings would simply obscure same.

Each plate cylinder receives ink, as. usual, from form rolls 1", r, taking ink from a drum D arranged belowthe related plate cylinder. Each drum D is driven in proper time and relation with4 its related plate cylinder by means of a gear p on the plate cylinder shaft meshing with an intermediate. gear 3 mounted on a stud 3a, and in turn meshing with a gear CZ on the shaft Z of the drum l).

Ink is supplied to the drum D by any suitable ineans, preferably by a fountain located 7 therebeneath in the usual manner, such ink supplying devices are common andwell understood and may be of any desired kind.

As shown in Figure l, the web W is led in from beow over a guide g and then passed between one plate cylinder P and its related impression cylinder I, then down between the impression cylinders, and then up between the/second impression cylinder andits relatedv plate cylinder, to and over a guide g", and thence to a folder (not shown). 'Cons/quent ly in this construction, the ink distributing rollers O must be arranged. at the inner side of the drum, and betweenthe ink supply to the drum and the innermostmform' roller.

As shown in Figure 2, the web W is led from above downward past the guide g, then between the first pair of plate and impression cylinders P and I: then up between the impression cylinders I; then down bef tween lthe secondpair oflimpression cylind ers I and P ;:then down -and over the, guide roller g, and then downto a folder (not shown). In this construction the directionof rotation of the cylinders and drums is opposite their direction of rotation in the 4construction shown in Figure l. Consequently the distributing rollers O mustbe placed at the outside of the drum between the ink supply to the drum and the outermost form roller.

To enable the set ofinlrdistributing rollers toi be readily placed at either side of the drum, as may be requiredgrthe side frames l are provided adjacent the bearing of the drum shaft Zand at opposite sides thereof, with an inner series of radiallyv disposed slots 4 and -with an outer series of radially disposed slots 4, as shownVin vFigures l to, 4,

ESO

and .in either of these series of slots can beV bolted the several brackets 5 in which the shafts of the rollers O are supported' as in dicated in Figures l to 4. v

In Figure l, the brackets 5 are engaged with the inner slots 4, and the outer slots v4 are empty. In Figure 2, the brackets 51 are engaged with the outer slots 4, and the. in- 5 ner slots 4 are empty.v The-hangers 5 can be readily disengaged from either set ot` slots, and engaged with. the other set of slots accord-ing to whether it is desired to have the distributing rollers O' located at the inner or outer side of the drum.; and this is determined by the direction of' rotation of the cyl? inders, or feed of the web, through the press.'V

one side of the drum tothe other, 4theblocks l 4bfcan be detached from one slot 4d (or 4c) and placed in the other slotv 4c (or 4d) according to whether it is desired to position the rollers on the inside of the drum,vas in Figure 8, or on the outside of the drum as in Figure 10.

From the foregoing description andthe drawings, it should be clearly `understood that the main frames, drums, ink rollers, ink supply, cylinder bearings, and in fact practically all -of the important and expensive parts of the press, remain the sameand are used whatever length of sheet is printed; and that all that` is necessary in order to change the press to print another length of sheet is to remove the plate and impression Acylinders and their gears and replace them by'like cylinders and gearsof the prop'- distributing rollers from one side of the drum to the other. l Y I Y rII`hus, vreferring to Figures l and 2, all that is required in orderto change the press from the. size of machine shown in Figure l to a f machine such as shown in Figure 2, (i. e., to

' Y lin Figure 2; and substitute gears I, Pf, of the Y some cases, theinteimediate gear print a different lengthof sheet), is to substitute for the .cylinders of the size shown in Figure l, the like cylinders of the size shown will be seen that theV side of the wedge plates c 2d,f2e which impinges against the inclined side of the opening'in the side frame has -its face inclined complementary to the face ofthe opening. The wedges 2b, shown in connection with the impression cylinders, are not used for adjustment but simply as ller pieces so as to permitthe Veasy insertiony of the rectangular impression cylinder bearings in the openings of the frame, and secure saine fin proper'position. .After setting the bearings in proper position the wedge 2571s inserted andtightened by the screw 2f which locks the bearing firmly in place in the frame opening. `Thisy construction obviates the close fitting which would otherwise be necessary on the rectangular filler pieces 2c (if used) and requires only exact fitting of the cap 1g and `of the bottom of the slots in the frame.` Wedges 2?) are locking means only; butwedges 2d and 2e are both locking and adjusting means. VIt is not necessary for wedge-plates 2b to have screw adjustment for two directions and therefore l have not shownin the drawings threaded holes in wedges 2b. The wedges 2d and 2e may for adjusting purposes require motions both upwai'd and c downward and consequently threaded screw holes are indieat-edtherein.

If the stud carrying gear 3 should be made adjustable itV will never be lnecessary t-o change'thegear 3, but merely shift its position. Y This will be understood by pressmen and is not a material feature. If it is desired to change the speed 'of the drum in somecases the gear Z may berreplaced. i

If the direction of run oft the web remains the same as in Figure l, when another size of cylinders are substituted in such press, it

would vnot be necessary to change the .posi-V tion of the ink distributing rollers O; but if j the direction of run ofthe web is reversed then .the vdistributing rollers O should be shifted to the position indicated in Figure 2.

What is claimed'is, Y

l. A rotary printing press having interchangeable plate and impression cylinders respectively adapted to print sheets of different length; and means for leading a web in either direction between the plate and iinpressioncylinders; with means for inking the plate Cylinders including inliing drums and ink distributing rollers cooperating with'the drums.; and meanswhereby the ink distributing rollers can beset at either side of the ink drums in accordance with the lead of the web and direction of rotation of the plate cylinders.

2. A rotary printing press having interchangeable plateand impression cylinders respectively adapted to print sheets of different length; means for adjusting the cylinders in the machine according to their size; and means for leading a web either upward or downward through the press and between the plate and impression cylinders; with means for inling the plate cylinders including inling drums and ink distributing roll-y ers cooperating with the drums; and means whereby the inlrdistributing rollers can be set at either side of the inlrdrunis iii accordancewith the lead of the web and direc- 'tion of rotation of the plate cylinders.

A rotary cylinde web printing press having openings inthe main frame for the reception of the Vjournal boxes ofthe cylinders; andA removable plate. and impression cylinders having their journal boXes mounted in said openings, said cylinders being interchangeable with like cylinders of diiferent size according to the length of sheet to be printed; means for leading a web either upward or downward through the press and 105 between the plate and impression cylinders; means forinliing the plate cylinders, including inlring drums kand distributing rollers cooperating with the drum; and means whereby the distributing rollers can be set at either side of the drums in accordance with the lead of the web and direction of rotation of the plate cylinders.

4. A rotary cylinder web printing press having openings in the main frame for the 115 reception of the journal boxes of the cylinders; removable plate andimpression cylinders having their' journal boxes mounted in said openings, said cylinders being interchangeable with like cylinders of different 120 size according to the length of sheet to be printed; means for adjustably securing the boxes the openings when the cylinders are changed; meansV for leading a web either upward or downward through the press and be- `tween the plate and impression cylinders; c means for inhing the plate cylinders, includ-A ing inking drums and distributing rollers cooperating with the drums; and means wherebythe distributing rollers can `beadtheir size; and means for leading a web upward or downward through the press and between the plate and impression cylinders; with means for inking the plate cylinders including inlring drums, ink distributing rollf ers and form rollers cooperating with the drums in accordance with the lead of the webV and direction of rotation of ders. l

6. A rotary cylinder web printing press having a main frame provided with openings for the reception of journal boxes, interchangeable plate and impression cylinders respectively adapted to print sheets of dif- Jferent length and having their ournal boxes mounted in said openings, wedge plates Jfor laterally adjusting the boxes in the openings in accordance with the size of the cylinders employed; with means for leading a web either upward or downward through the press and between the plate and impression cylinders to be printed thereby; an ink drum, means for distributing the ink on the drum, and means for rotating the drum and for inking the forms on the plate cylinders in accordance with the lead of the web and the direction of rotation of the plate cylinders.

7. A rotary cylinder web printing press having a main frame provided with a row of openings for the reception of journal boxes arrangedin substantially the same horizontal plane, interchangeable plate andimpression cylinders respectively adapted to print sheets of different length and having their journals mounted in boxes in said openings, and means for laterally adjusting the boxes in the openings in accordance with the size of the cylinders employed; with means for leading a web in either direction between the the plate cylinplate and impression cylinders to be printed V thereby; means for distributing the inlr and for inking the forms on the plate cylinders in accordance with the lead of the web and the direction of rotation of the plate cylinders, and means for rotating the drum in accordance with the direction of rotation of the plate cylinders.

8. In a rotary cylinder web printing press having a main frame provided with openings for the reception of journal boxes each opening having an inclined side and wider at top than at bottom; interchangeable plate and impression cylinders having their ournal boxes mounted in said openings, and cylinders journaled in said boxes; an adjustable wedge plate interposed betweenvone side of each journal box and the opposed inclined side ofthe opening, and means for adjusting said wedge plate at right angles tothe direction ofthe applied-pressure toadjust the journal box laterally in the opening; with means for leading a web through the press in either direction between the plate Aand im- Y pression cylinders; an inkdrum mounted on theframe adapted to be rotated in either di rection, and inl; distributing and form rollers .adapted to supply ink from the drum' to the plate cylinder according/to the direction of rotation of said cylinder.y

l9. Ai rotary cylinder web printing press having awmain frame vpro-vided with open-l ings for the reception of the journal boxes of a cylinder, each 'of said openings 'having aninclined sidegand interchangeable plate and impression cylinders each having Vstraight sided journal boxes mounted in such openings; adjustable wedge plates interposed between the sides of said journal boxesand the inclined sides ofl the openings; each plate having an inclined side engaging the inclined side of the related opening; with means for leading a web through the press in either direction between the platel andl impression cylinders; an inlr drum mounted on the frame adapted to be rotated in either direction, and ink distributing and form'rollers'adapted to supply ink from the drum to' the plate cylinder according to the direction of rotation of said cylinder. Y

lO. Ina rotary cylinderl web `printing press; main side frames having openings for the reception of the journal boxes of the cylinders, each of said openings having an inclined side; journal boxes mounted in said j openings, and interchangeable plate and impression cylinders jo-urnaled in said boxes; wedge plates Ainterposed between said journal boxes and the inclined sides of the open-A ings; each wedge plate having an inclined face to engage the inclined face of the related opening and a straight face engaging the straight face of the related rectangular journal box; and vmeans* for longitudinally adjusting the wedge plates in the openings; with means for leading a web through the press in either direction between the plate a boxes, said openings having inclined sides opj posite the journal'boxes; and cylinder journal boxes mounted in said openings; wedge plates interposed between said journal boxes t 15,5 den and theinclined sidesof the openings, each wedge plate having an inclined face to engage the inclined face of the related opening; and'means""for adjusting the VWedge plates in the openings; With meansV for lead ing a web through the press in either direcv` tion between the plate and impression cylvinders; an ink drum mounted on the :trame adapted to be rotated in either direction ac-v cording tothe direction of rotation-oi the plate cylinder, and ink distributing and formy rollers adapted to supply ink from the drum to the plate cylinder according to the direc-v the drum and said cylintionoi` rotation of rotary cylinder ift/eb printing "press having a frame,V andi interchangeable plate and impression cylinders mounted on the frame and adapted to be rotated in either direction according to the lead of the web; means for leading a Web in either direction through thepress andfmeans for relatively adjusting the bearings of the plate and iinpression cylindersV according rto their size; a

a single ink fountain; an ink drum mounted on theframe and adapted to be rotated in either direction adjacent the plate cylinder; independently removable brackets adapted to be secured to the frame at either side ofthe l:drum according to the rotation of the plate cylinder; and ink distributing rollers 'car-vr ried bysaid brackets.

y Y In testimony thatl claim the foregdingas my own, :Iafx my signature. Y Y

, HENRY BECHMAN. 

